Medication adherence programs have shown promising results in keeping patients on track with taking prescriptions. While certain factors may alter different programs' guidelines, the Journal of the American Medical Association proposes six elements that are essential for any intervention designed to improve medication adherence.
1. Patient knowledge — Patients need to know what medications to take, when to take them and why medication adherence is important for their health. Teaching methods should be adapted to the patient's social context and level of health literacy.
2. Counseling and accountability — Providing support, whether it be from peers, family or physicians, can help reinforce medication adherence. Continually communicating with a patient may help identify patient needs and encourage self-management.
3. Self-Monitoring — Patients should collect certain pieces of data that will help healthcare providers address the patient's changing needs. For example, a record of prescription refills and biological information such as blood pressure levels can show providers where the patient is faltering in the adherence program, how they can help the patient improve and, if necessary, alter the care plan. Additionally, if the data is reported to a healthcare system, it can be incorporated in the electronic health record.
4. Costs — High healthcare costs can deter patients from sticking to a medication adherence program. Finding ways to lower the costs and educating the patient on the necessity of medication may increase a patient's willingness to spend the resources.
5. Personalizing the program — Any medication adherence program must be tailored to meet an individual's needs. Some patients may need constant reminders and interventions while others won't require as much contact.
6. Need for future research — The next step in medication adherence programs is to continue gathering data to one day implement a large-scale, nationwide adherence initiative.
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